Jude Sheridan was cheating.

Cecilia Croft stood outside the fitting room of the bridal shop, watching her future husband with another woman.

"Jude... does this wedding dress look better on me, or on your fiancée?"

"Of course it’s you. I can’t get enough of you. Isn’t that proof enough of your charm?"

Pleased with his response, the woman let out a coquettish laugh.

"I want you to remember me forever. On your wedding day, on your anniversaries, you’ll always think of today, and you’ll always think of me."

Listening to the soft moans from inside, Cecilia Croft felt a deathly chill.

On the eve of their wedding, Jude Sheridan, who had always seemed so family-oriented, had been taking frequent business trips. So this was the reason—he had a woman on the side.

Fighting the churning in her stomach, Cecilia turned and walked away, getting into her car.

They had been together for seven years. They started a business together, fought for it together, and built Vantage into what it was today.

Her sister had said Jude Sheridan was bad news. A message from her was still on her phone.

[We, the Crofts, won’t be attending your wedding to Jude Sheridan. You’re on your own.]

With tears in her eyes, Cecilia Croft opened her phone and replied.

[I’m not going through with this wedding, either.]

It was a long while before a reply came.

[Come back to Karthus in one month. If you do, I’ll believe you. Otherwise, we’re done as sisters.]

Cecilia replied with a single word, "Okay," then put her phone away.

She started the car and drove away. Just then, Jude emerged from the bridal shop with his arm around the woman. He froze when he saw the familiar license plate.

In the time it took him to hesitate, the car was already far down the road.

He pushed the small hand off his arm, straightened his clothes, and resumed his usual air of distinguished composure.

"I’ll have my assistant take you home."

The woman beside him pouted. "No, I don’t want to. You promised you’d go shopping with me."

Jude Sheridan raised his hand and patted her head, his eyes holding a coldness that brooked no refusal. "Be good."

The woman didn’t dare protest further. She sullenly withdrew her hand and left with his assistant.

After they were gone, Jude walked to his own car. The vehicle’s reflective surface showed his image; there wasn’t the slightest trace of vice on the man’s face.

When he got home, he saw Cecilia’s car in the garage. She was sitting in the driver’s seat, looking at her phone.

"Been out?" The car door opened. Jude casually tossed the suit jacket draped over his arm onto her passenger seat and leaned in close.

The top two buttons of his black shirt were undone, offering a glimpse of his firm, well-defined muscles.

There was no trace of another woman on him.

When she didn’t speak, he leaned in to kiss her.

Cecilia turned off her phone and raised a hand to block him, her tone sharp.

"Are you that scared of me going out?"

The man was silent for a moment. "Of course not. You can go out whenever you want. I just worry you’ll be bored without someone to keep you company."

With that, he smiled and reached out to wrap an arm around her waist, his voice a soft, coaxing whisper.

"Come on, tell me. Who got my darling angel all worked up?"

Cecilia didn’t answer. She stared quietly at his handsome, striking face, her eyes frosted over with ice.

He was the same as ever—always able to immediately sense when her mood was off, find the reason, solve the problem, and provide the highest degree of emotional validation.

Cecilia shook her head, her gaze shifting away from him. Her voice was flat.

"Jude Sheridan, you seem very busy lately. I don’t think there’s any need for our wedding to go forward. I’m afraid you won’t be able to be in two places at once."

Jude Sheridan felt that Cecilia Croft was being more than a little ungrateful. He was a well-known figure now, after all.

"Say that again!" he snapped, his voice seething with anger.

Cecilia looked him in the eye.

"There is no need for our wedding to be held. I’m afraid you won’t be able to be in two places at once."

She finished and turned to leave, but Jude grabbed her arm, the fury in his eyes now plain to see.

"Aren’t I so busy for the sake of our company, for our future? Do you want our children to lose at the starting line the moment they’re born?"

"I just got back from a business trip, and not only do you not show the slightest concern, you start throwing a fit and being unreasonable. When did you become like this?"

Cecilia stared at him, listening to his baseless accusations, finding it all utterly laughable.

The man standing before her was such a stranger, it was as if she had never known him at all.

’He’s full of lies, just like most men. Even after cheating, he’ll push all the blame onto the other person.’

’As if his betrayal was a last resort, as if she had held a knife to his throat and forced him to sleep with other women.’

The wedding was in two months. Her sister had given her one month to handle things here.

In one month, she would make Jude Sheridan disappear from her world completely.

She went straight upstairs, entered her room, and went into the bathroom to wash up.

Jude followed her in, wrapping his arms around her from behind and softening his tone.

"It’s all my fault, Cecilia. I’ve been too busy lately and neglected your feelings. For the next few days, I’ll cancel all my social events and come straight home after work to be with you, okay?"

Cecilia looked up at the reflection in the mirror—at the man whispering sweet nothings to placate her—and a mocking smile touched her lips.

"Why bother? I..."

Before she could finish, Jude’s phone rang. The ringtone was a sweet, happy little love song that had just gotten popular.

His old ringtone had always been the generic system default. Cecilia remembered back when they were madly in love and the company was just starting out. She had wanted him to change his ringtone to a love duet with her, but he had refused, saying he met with clients often and it would make a bad impression.

’So it wasn’t that it would’ve made a bad impression. It was that I wasn’t worth changing it for.’

Jude took out his phone, glanced at it, and immediately declined the call. "Spam call."

Cecilia’s lips pressed into a thin line. She had clearly seen the caller ID: "181 Seconds." She just "oh"-ed in response and didn’t press the matter.

Jude’s phone rang again. He declined it. It rang again. Finally, he turned his back to answer the call.

"The company has a few important projects right now, so I’m very busy. I hope you can be more understanding. I’ll be staying late at the office tonight. I’ll be back tomorrow morning to go with you to try on wedding dresses. You don’t have to wait up for me, go to bed early."

Cecilia didn’t look at him, simply continuing to brush her teeth. Through the mirror, she watched him leave the bathroom and walk out the door.

After he left, she took out her phone and searched online for the meaning of "181 seconds."

Among the many replies, the most prominent explanation jumped out at her.

[They say passion only lasts for three minutes, but you are my 181st second.]

Suppressing the unprompted, stabbing pain in her heart, Cecilia casually opened a real estate app and listed the villa they were living in for sale.

She would be returning to Karthus in a month. Her fixed assets in Silvercrest meant nothing to her.

She no longer wanted anything here. That included Jude Sheridan.